Chart of the Day: Shenzhen No Longer a Top-10 Overseas Travel Destination

Hong Kong is estimated to have received more overseas visitors than any other world city this year, with Macau also ranking in the top 10 while Shenzhen’s slowing visitor growth has seen it relegated to number 11, a recent report said.

According to the report released by British research firm Euromonitor International on Tuesday, Shenzhen fell from 10th to 11th place this year after an estimated 12.4 million international tourists visited the Guangdong province city, up from 12.1 million in 2017. Its spot in the top 10 has been taken by Delhi, which the report estimates saw 23.1% growth in visitor numbers this year with 12.5 million arrivals.

However, Lonely Planet, one of the world’s most popular travel guides, in October named Shenzhen as one of its top 10 cities to visit in 2019. Lonely Planet praised “the Silicon Valley of China” for its “its slew of new design openings and tech innovation” and said the young city has “a strumming indie-music scene, cool cafes, a small contingent of craft brewers and a whole new arts district.”

The Euromonitor report says Hong Kong is still number one for international travelers, with 29.8 million visiting the special administrative region in 2018. The city is reported to have benefited from the boom in Chinese mainland outbound travel in recent years, with half of its travelers coming from the mainland. Macau is estimated to have moved to fourth from fifth place, with 18.9 million arrivals.